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Skaneateles Welcomes Antique and Classic Boat Show During Fun-Filled Weekend, July 25-27, 2008

From antique and classic boats, to polo and opera, to blues and barbecue—Skaneateles has it all during the last weekend of July.

Antique and Classic Boat Show – July 25-27

The Antique and Classic Boat Show, hosted by the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce and the Finger Lakes Chapter (FLC) of the Antique and Classic Boat Society, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year with displays on water and land (in Clift Park), musical entertainment, and activities for the entire family.

Among the land displays will be one depicting a slice-of-life from the early 1940s, when the boats were popular.

The backdrop of the display—created by FLC member Arnie Rubenstein—is an 8-foot-square photo of the Skaneateles Boat Co. and its staff members, marking production of the 1,000th Comet sailboat. A workbench in front of the photo contains a 1941 telephone, a 1941 radio and a mannequin dressed as one of the boat company’s craftsmen. Visitors who pick up the phone will hear gossip about costs of the day. The radio station will be “tuned” to five channels—one with a recording of the news bulletin announcing the attack on Pearl Harbor, two with period music, and two with old radio shows. The display will be on view in the lobby of M&T Bank, 33 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles, for a few weeks prior to the show. Following the show, it will be donated to the Skaneateles Historical Society.

This year’s boat show poster—featuring Lightning sailboats and a 1930s-vintage Chris-Craft Runabout—was developed around a watercolor painting by Rochester artist Paul Allen Taylor. Taylor is a self-taught painter whose seascapes and landscapes have won acclaim for their bold, clean colors and impressionistic style. Copies of the poster will be sold at the Lightning Regatta (July 4-6 at the Skaneateles Country Club) and the Antique and Classic Boat Show; in addition, Taylor will autograph copies at Mid-Lakes Navigation during the July 4 First Friday art night. The original painting will be sold through silent auction, with a $700 reserve.

The show gets under way Friday afternoon, with the local Sea Scouts announcing the arrival of each exhibiting boat with a bosun’s pipe. Additional highlights of the show include the parade of boats (Saturday at 3 p.m.), historical village tours, children’s activities, and displays by the Syracuse Model Boat Club.(more…)

Lightning #1, built by the Skaneateles Boats Company, was launched on Skaneateles Lake in 1938. The Skaneateles Country Club was granted the charter for Lightning Fleet #1, and in 1939 John Barnes of the Skaneateles Boats Company became the first national Lightning champion. Today, the Lightning has evolved into one of the most popular and competitive one-design racing classes in the world, with more than 500 fleets worldwide and some 15,000 boats. Lightning #1 has been retired to the Mystic (Conn.) Seaport Museum.

The Lightning, which sports a “bolt of lightning” insignia toward the top of its mainsail, has been piloted by some of the world’s best sailors, including America’s Cup defenders Ted Turner and Dennis Connor.

The 70th Anniversary program gets under way Friday, with Lightning Labs and a cookout for Regatta participants. Three races are scheduled for Saturday, and two for Sunday, with additional events for participants held throughout the weekend. For more information, go to http://www.lightning70th.com.

We see a lot of this at Skaneateles Suites. Likely it’s because the The Bungalows are so well suited for ‘gathering’ as well as sleeping. No doubt the Main House is a favorite for groups up to eight.

Some recent examples:

Two College roomates ‘meet in the middle’ every year to fondly remember all that was all those years ago. Mary is from Ottowa, Sheila from Ohio. Both at the Suites, We sent them to the Charlie Major Nature Trail. Both left with a smile.

Three wives and moms from Rochester, all had babies on the same day in the same hospital 15 years ago. They took one 2-bed BUngalow, but one slept in the tub because the other two snore. We sent them to dinner at Joe’s Pasta Garage with a ‘note’ from the Suites, Joe bought them dessert. I recommended they turn their cell phone <off>, that the kid’s call could wait. They agreed and did.

Here is a good one; three fathers brought their 5 college-age daughters for a weekend of Togethering. (Each daughter more drop dead gorgeous than the other, I might add.) We got them invited to the 40th Aniversary Celebration of a local Boat Line Comapny. They didn’t know a soul, or even what the celebration was about. Nor did they care. They ate and drank and mingled and had a ball.

A husband and wife stay with us in a Jacuzzi Suite fairly often. They order take-out and eat right in the room. We give them early arrival, they always are late checking out. I guess it takes them a long time to eat. But here is the thing; their home is 1/2 mile away.

Marcellus-Skaneateles Art Guild’s ‘Art in the Park’ Summer Fine Arts and Crafts Show will take place once again in the beautiful Marcellus Park located on Rt 175 and Platt Road, Marcellus. This years show will be a spectacular one day event on Saturday, June 28 from 10 am to 5 pm with more than 40 artists and crafts people showing and selling their original work. Food will be provided by the Friends of Marcellus Park and music by John Rossbach and Perry Cleaveland. Kids can exercise their artistic skill coloring images of famous Art Masterpieces from Michaelangelo to Picasso.

MSAG is a volunteer group of artists and crafts people who gather to support each other and the arts in CNY. Monthly meetings encompass lectures, training and critique sessions for Guild members and area artists. New members are always welcome to join.

Nestled in the quaint village of Skaneateles, Bijou is a gem of a little salon. Come visit us whether you’ve come for styling, color, highlighting, texturing, conditioning treatments, waxing, or just a haircut. Bijou has its own unique charm. A dash of France in the Finger Lakes. Central New York’s newest salon, come by Bijou and say hi and prepare to be pampered.